Clouston: Mistakes 'going in the back of our net'

MONTREAL - In exiting his eighth partial game of the season Saturday, Pascal Leclaire kicked hard at the boards and whipped his blocker to the ground before settling on a seat at the end of the bench.

If the Senators get their wish, Brian Elliott will keep him there the rest of the season.

While stopping just short of making an official announcement a day early, the Senators are certain to start Elliott in goal for Monday's Battle To Stay Out of Seventh with the Canadiens at the Bell Centre.

And while also stopping short of labelling Elliott his No. 1 goalie, coach Cory Clouston said his team needs some between-the-pipes work like Montreal is getting from Jaroslav Halak, who has been the workhorse while the Habs have claimed 13 of 14 points.

Asked after Sunday's practice if he's ready give the job to one guy and let him run with it, Clouston nodded.

"Yeah, we're going to have to have one guy ... I'm not going to say carry the whole rest of the load, but he's definitely going to have to step up," he said.

On a five-game losing skid and having lost 8-of-9, the Senators are anxious to secure a spot in the playoffs (Ottawa's lead on ninth-place Atlanta has slipped to four points) with 10 games left.

Clouston was candid in assessing the blame for Saturday's 5-4 loss in Dallas, which saw him pull Leclaire early in the third after the goalie allowed five goals on 19 shots. It wasn't defensive breakdowns, said the coach.

"We only gave up 11 chances (Saturday). Right now, we are making some mistakes in the defence, but they become so much more glaring and obvious when a good majority of them are going in the back of our net. It becomes very deflating. It takes a little while to recover and get yourself back, mentally and emotionally, and give another push.

"The mental aspect is a big part of that position. A perfect example is Montreal. They're getting outstanding goaltending for the most part right now. They're feeling confident and it wasn't so long ago that our goaltenders had a lot of confidence."

Elliott, who has a 23-17-3 record, a 2.64 G.A.A. and a .906 save percentage, has mostly struggled since the Olympics. But Leclaire, who was brought in to be the No. 1 goalie and has been plagued by injuries, is stuck on 11 wins and has a bloated G.A.A. (3.18) with an unacceptable save percentage (.887).

To watch him play is to know he has completely lost his confidence.

Not currently an option is Mike Brodeur, who is 3-0-0 in stints with Ottawa this season but is currently dealing with a groin injury.

"It's a growing concern," Jason Spezza said of the fact the team has allowed 20 goals in its last four games. "All year we won games because we're a tight-checking, good defensive team that works hard. Most of our wins when we were winning were by one goal. We've got to get back to that."

Spezza disagrees with comparisons to the 2007-08 Senators team that started so strongly, petered out down the stretch and was swept by Pittsburgh in the first round.

"We're not as far from being a winning team again as we were then," he said. "The wheels kind of fell off for us that year. I feel we have more confidence in putting this thing together, quicker than we did that year."

The Senators say they're not even thinking about playoff matchups.

"You have to know the standings," said Daniel Alfredsson. "It's almost like in golf. If I was in or around the lead, I would look at the leaderboard to know what's going on. But having said that, you can't (think) 'we have to win this game today'. It has to be, 'what do we have to do to play well today'. That's our focus."